From the Heart
by silent-eternity
Summary: -CURRENTLY ON HOLD- The rebels and W.I.T.C.H have Phobos on the run. But can they win when the Prince reveals a far darker plan? And can they fight against not only Phobos, but also themselves?
1. Even the best laid plans

**From the Heart**

**Even the best laid plans...**

Phobos stood overlooking Meridian from his palace. His face betrayed no emotion, but he was furious within.

The Guardians! The rebels! Weak and pathetic next to his power, and yet they always triumphed, and yet they always stopped his plans! He controlled an entire planet, he had legions of Lurdens under his control, he had powers they could only dream of...

And yet five _girls_ and a rabble of _insignificant, malnourished_ rebels always managed to triumph over _him_.

He angrily spat over the balcony. If his plan succeeded, then he would have nothing more to fear from those troublesome Guardians and their pathetic rebel friends.

He heard a cough from behind, Cedric making his daily reports no doubt.

Sighing deeply, he strode back into the Castle chamber, silently stopping before a large model map of Metamoor.

"What have you got for me today Cedric?" he asked quietly, with an air of deadly calm and barely contained anger.

Cedric nervously cleared his throat, the Prince had been very tense the past few weeks, and he didn't want to anger him,

"The...err," the naga hesitated for a moment. Phobos looked him straight in the eyes,

"The what?" he asked calmly, though there was a heavy undertone of fury.

Cedric shifted uneasily,

"The rebelsss and Guardianss have destroyed..." he hesitated once again. Phobos angrily drew in breath,

"What, Cedric?" he asked firmly, his eyes cold and hard, his voice reflecting his mounting rage, though his face betrayed nothing.

"They've dessstroyed another mine. All the prisoners were sset free, my lord."

Phobos gave a cry of pure rage, slamming his fist onto the model of Meridian, crushing a small village,

"_How do they do this!?_" he roared, angrily crushing the remains of the village into dust, "That's the _third_ this _week!_"

Cedric watched quietly as he watched the Prince mash another model village into pulp. It was true, the Guardians and the rebels had grown bolder and more frequent in their attacks. And they were winning.

Phobos stopped his furious attack on the planet-map,

"Never mind..." he whispered, "_Never mind..._"

He turned to Cedric, "Step up the search for my sister! I want that Princess found, before the Guardians get to her!"

The naga bowed,

"Isss that all ssire?" he hissed, still wary of Phobos' temper.

Phobos shook his head, a smile beginning to dance on his lips,

"No, no. I need a Guardian, anyone of them will do." he murmured, before repeating himself, louder.

Cedric shook his head slightly,

"My lord, it'ss almost imposssible to capture a Guardian, the five of them are..."

Phobos, who had been moving away, swirled round to face him in a swish of robes, interrupting the naga mid-sentence,

"Cedric, are you disputing my orders!?" he roared, his anger flaring up again. Insubordination was the last thing the Prince needed, especially with the damned rebels and Guardians attacking him at every turn and crushing every one of his best-laid plans.

The snake hastily shook his head,

"No my lord, never. Your ordersss are alwayss obeyed to form. You know that, my lord Prince."

Phobos sighed,

"Then _obey,_ you fool." he muttered audibly, before turning back round and leaving back to his balcony. Cedric gave a bow, a less-than-happy look plastered on his face, before slithering out.

Phobos looked out over Meridian again, taking in the dark and bleak landscape. He watched the people scurry through the muddy streets of the city, like little ants. His thoughts turned to the wretched Guardians and their pathetic rebel allies. Soon, if all went according to plan, they would be no threat. But that was if that imbecilic naga managed to get him that needed Guardian, any Guardian would do for the plan he had devised, and that was only if the plan worked, of course.

And then there was his sister, the Princess, the _rightful_ heir to the throne of Metamoor. He spat again. Once he found his dratted sister, he'd be sure to drain every ounce of her power. And then, not even Kandrakar and their flimsy Veil would stop him.


	2. Oh, is it your birthday?

swiftdragoness - Thanks! And yes, Phobos is an awesome villain! ^^

XV-Dragon - Thanks! ^^

* * *

**Oh, is it your birthday..?**

Will, Irma, Taranee, Hay-Lin, and Cornelia stood in a conspiratorial group in one of the less-frequently crowded corridors of the Sheffield Institute. If anyone had tried to listen in carefully they would have heard a strange talk of hearts, princes, princesses and magic.

Irma gave a joyous giggle,

"And did you see when I blasted Cedric down with a well-aimed shot?" she mimed shooting an invisible target.

Cornelia rolled her eyes,

"_Excuse me, _I'll think you'll find it was my _roots_ that knocked him down, _not_ your little jet of water."

Hay-Lin twirled round with a grin,

"You should've seen me and Taranee! We found a group of Lurdens trying to make away with a load of prisoners and..." she was interrupted by the arrival of a rather gloomy looking Elyon. She gave them a smile, though she didn't seem to be too happy,

"Hey guys."

They all stopped talking. Elyon gave a laugh. It sounded pretty sad,

"Seriously, every time anyone gets near you lot in a corridor you all stop talking. It's almost like your planning some conspiracy."

Will gave her a grin,

"Don't be silly, we were just...er..." at that precise moment, the bell rang,

_Phew, saved by the bell..._

Elyon treated them all to another smile,

"Well, I'll see you after classes." she said, before striding off.

Irma scratched her head,

"Something's eating her."

Taranee shrugged,

"Maybe she's got problems at..." she was interrupted by a sudden violent exclamation from Cornelia,

"It's Elyon's birthday today!" she whispered to the group. Hay-Lin smacked her forehead, as though remembering something obvious,

"Of course! I remember now! We said we were going to throw her a party."

Irma gave Cornelia a glare,

"You're her best friend! Why didn't _you_ remember, and _tell_ us?"

Cornelia harrumphed,

"Oh well, I'm _sorry_! I have been trudging through mud rescuing kingdoms all week you know!"

Irma feigned concern,

"Oohh...did the _poor_ Queen of the Universe get mud on her dress?"

Cornelia opened her mouth to answer a sharp retort, but Hay-Lin interrupted,

"We need to plan that party for Elyon!"

Cornelia's frown changed into a smile,

"Oh, don't worry, I'll plan it! For tonight no less."

Will nodded,

"Right, where and when? At your house?"

Cornelia shook her head,

"Oh no, as I told the others when we were planning _your_ party, my parents have banned my parties at my house because they're so awesome. Anyone volunteer their house?"

Everyone but Will shook their heads. Will gave a slight nod,

"My mum will be out 'till tomorrow morning, we can host it there."

Cornelia clapped her hands together,

"Great! Right, I'll plan the party and get the guest list sorted, you lot try to convince Elyon to go to Will's house after school."

Taranee raised her eyebrows,

"_Right_ after school?"

"That's what I said."

"How're you going to plan and prepare a party in that time?"

Irma pushed Taranee off, down the corridor,

"Never mind, she has her methods, and we're are _really_ gonna be late for classes if we don't hurry up."

As they all moved off towards their classes Hay-Lin glanced outside the window, looking at the cloudless sky. For a moment she thought she heard a voice, barely a whisper,

_'Guardian...'_

* * *

Hay-Lin's hearing voices... Another short chapter, but they _will_ get longer as the plot begins to form I swear! ^^ As always, please, please, please R&R!


	3. Surprise!

swiftdragoness - Thanks. ^^

XV-Dragon - Yeah, the brother was actually all a mistake, when I was writing the entire story plot, I accidentally put that Will had a brother, which got me thinking, so I changed to plot to include him and now Will has an older brother. ^^

* * *

**Surprise!**

The school bell rung loud and shrill, signifying the long-awaited end of another interminable school day. Just on the threshold of freedom, Taranee and Hay-Lin caught up with Elyon. Hay-Lin treated her to a wide grin,

"Mind if we join you for a while?" she asked happily.

Elyon shrugged,

"Sure guys."

The three friends walked through town, chatting about various things. All of a sudden, Taranee slammed her forehead, almost comically,

"Damn, I forgot to pick something up at Will's house!" she turned to Hay-Lin and Elyon, "Do you mind if we take a detour?"

"Not at all." said Hay-Lin, with a well-practised smile. Elyon simply shrugged.

The trio proceeded to Will's house, where Taranee entered. There was a moment of silence, and then she called to Hay-Lin and Elyon, her voice not sounding very convincing,

"Guys! Come in here! You need to see this!"

Hay-Lin and Elyon looked at each other for a split-second, and Hay-Lin shrugged, smiling slightly, they entered, and were met by a barrage of noise,

"Surprise!!"

From behind couches and chairs, underneath tables, and behind doors, an army of people burst out, showering Elyon in confetti. At the forefront, Cornelia gave Elyon a brief hug,

"Happy birthday Elyon."

Elyon looked gob-smacked,

"You didn't forget after all..." she murmured.

Cornelia heard her,

"Of course not! As if I'd forget my best friend's birthday!"

In the corner of the room, Irma dissolved into a round of fake hacking coughs. Cornelia swung round, "Oh dear, Irma. Swallowed a confetti no doubt?"

In the doorway, Hay-Lin and Taranee stood motionless, almost as surprised as Elyon,

"How did she manage to organise _all_ this during school?" Taranee asked the wind guardian.

Hay-Lin shrugged unconcernedly,

"You heard Irma, she has her methods." she said happily, before moving into the party.

Two hours after its start, the party showed no signs of stopping. Dances were had, food was eaten, drinks were drunk and conversations were had. Standing away to the side of the main celebrations, Hay-Lin gazed peacefully through the window, staring at the darkening sky. One or two bright stars could be seen poking through the light. As she watched a small, solitary, cloud float across the sky, she became aware of a voice, no two voices. She strained her ears, trying to listen, one voice was distinctly...snake-like hissing it's words out.

_Cedric_, she thought slowly. She spun round, but no one was near her, at least, not close enough for her to be hearing their whispered conversation, and yet she could hear Cedric, and someone else, talking between themselves,

"_Are the plans ready for tonight?"_ it wasn't Cedric's voice, and it wasn't Phobos' either. I was cold, cruel and...empty. She heard the naga reply,

"_Every lassst one. Ssoon the rebelss and the Guardians will pose no threat to our planss."_

"_And what of Phobos' plans?"_

"_His plansss are of little concern to you my lord. Ssoon you will be..."_

"_There's more at stake than titles, Cedric. If this fails, be certain that I will expirate you."_ Expirate? What did that mean, did he, whoever _he_ was, mean kill? The unknown voice continued,

"_Follow Phobos' orders for now, and more importantly, kill the rebels. Now."_

"_Ssire, we have an army of Lurdenss marching on their possitions as we speak. They will not survive."_

"_Be sure of it."_

Silence. She heard nothing more. She breathed heavily, her mind reeling with what she had heard. Was Cedric betraying Phobos? And who was that voice? And the rebels... The rebels! She had to warn the others!

Gathering the rest of the Guardians was harder than she anticipated; she had to literally tear Cornelia away from some boy she had been dancing with, Will was in the kitchen, arguing with the dishwasher about overworking it or something and Irma was hiding from Martin, who had apparently been invited.

Finally, when she had gathered them all upstairs, she told them all she had heard. Taranee shifted uncomfortably,

"Are you sure you weren't hearing things?"

Irma rolled her eyes,

"And what, she _happened_ to _imagine_ hearing Cedric discussing plans with some random guy?"

Will stepped into the discussion,

"Look, at any rate, we can't do anything until everyone's gone, so we'll decide what to do _after_ the party, OK?" A round of nods.

The party lasted through the evening, and well into the night, and had Will, Irma and Cornelia not ushered everyone out, then it would probably had continued longer. Eventually, when everyone had gone, W.I.T.C.H sat together in the living room. Taranee cleared her throat,

"So what do we do? Should we go to Meridian?"

Irma shrugged, saying,

"We'd need to find a portal first..." she was interrupted by a sudden flash of blue light. A point of glowing energy opened at the far side of the living room. The point of light expanded, until it formed a large portal, crackling with energy. Irma blinked,

"Talk about your coincidences..." she was once again interrupted as Cedric, flanked by two Lurdens, broke the shimmering surface of the portal, and cruel grin plastered on the naga's face,

"Ssurprise!" he hissed.

* * *

Cliffhanger! Is Cedric really betraying Phobos? Who is that mysterious voice? Is Hay-Lin going insane? Find out later in the story! And don't forget to R&R! ^^


	4. Captured Eagle

XV-Dragon - Exactly! Darn that Cedric, can't trust him at all. ^^

swiftdragoness - Well, all good villains tend to be a little crazy. ^^

* * *

**Captured Eagle**

There was a moment of surprise and silence as Cedric and the two Lurdens came through the portal, and then Will whipped out the Heart of Kandrakar, holding it in the palm of her hand,

"Guardians, unite!" she cried. Five streams of light erupted from the Heart, surrounding the Guardians. Just as Cedric ordered the Lurdens to attack, the Guardians emerged from the cocoons of light, ready and waiting in their Guardian forms. Cornelia sighed deeply,

"Talk about a bad way to end an awesome party." she murmured.

Immediately after she had said this, battle was joined. The Lurden's charged forward, but before the Guardians could do the same, Will put an arm out to stop them, "We need to get them back through the portal! If we fight here we'll trash the house and my mum will_ kill_ me!" she shouted, jumping back as one of the Lurdens struck out at her. Irma weaved past the other Lurden, firing a small jet of water at Cedric's face,

"I think we have more important worries at the moment." she said, ducking as the naga tried to hit her. Hay-Lin cracked her fingers, smiling,

"Don't worry, I have just the thing. Irma, give me some water!" having said that, she sent a gust of wind towards Cedric and the Lurdens, before strengthening it. Cedric shielded his eyes with his arm, but carried on moving towards the girls. Then Irma fired a continual stream of water at the blazing wind. Before this sustained attack of water and air, the two Lurdens were forced back into the portal, soon followed by Cedric.

The Guardians quickly assembled before the swirling portal of blue,

"We're going to have to try to find a way to close the portal." stated Will. Hay-Lin quickly interrupted,

"We need to find Caleb and the rebels!" Cornelia sighed deeply, before saying,

"Well, if we want to close it, then I'd like to remind everyone that portals have a nasty tendency to close when we go through them. Y'know, bad luck and all that."

"But if we go through and it closes, then we'll need to find a_nother_ portal to get home." interjected Taranee.

"I _know_, I was being sarcastic." replied Cornelia, tossing her long blond hair back over her shoulder.

"Guys!" interrupted Irma, "I'd just like to remind you that Cedric and..." she was interrupted by Cedric's face's sudden appearance through the portal. Before the naga could actually do anything though, Taranee saw him off with a well-aimed fireball to the face. Irma continued, "Yeah, I'd just like to remind you that Cedric and the Lurdens are still on the other side of the portal."

"We need to go through to beat him back!" stated Will. Cornelia rolled her eyes,

"I thought you wanted to _close_ the gate. Not go _through_ it." she muttered. Ignoring her, Irma and Hay-Lin asserted their approval, followed by Taranee, and the group went into the shimmering circle.

The dark and dreary sky of Metamoor greeted them the moment the came through on the other side. They had arrived on some kind of plateau, raised up above the land. The city could be seen not far away, just ahead of them. But the Guardians' attention wasn't on the landscape, it was more focused on the grinning Cedric and the group of fifty or so Lurdens that accompanied him. Behind them, the portal fizzled out of existence,

"Great. Just great." muttered Cornelia, painfully aware of just how true her prediction had been. As one, the Guardians flew up into the air, getting out of reach, preparing for the battle. Cedric gave a hissing laugh,

"Nowhere to go Guardianss. Your rebel friendss have been crusshed by now, and no one in Meridian will willingly help you."

"We'll worry about that later, snake-boy." Irma said simply, firing a blast of water at Cedric. Once again, battle was joined. The Lurdens fiercely resisted, but were beaten back by the Guardians, who stayed out of reach, hitting them with their powers. As the Lurdens retreated, Hay-Lin flew in too close, and was struck down by a pole wielded by a fierce-looking soldier. She crumpled in a heap on the ground, and before any of her friends could get to her, Cedric scooped her up in his arms, swinging her unconscious form over his shoulder,

"Well, we have to be going now Guardianss." he hissed, "'till the next time we meet." there was a brief flash of dark light, and Cedric and his Lurdens were gone. Gone with Hay-Lin.

The Guardians flew back down to the ground. Irma swore loudly, shaking her fist towards the general direction of the city. Cornelia silenced her,

"Wait, what's that?" she asked, pointing towards a boulder a hundred of so feet away from them, a distinctly familiar form had moved out from behind it and was limping towards them. Taranee squinted at it,

"It's Caleb!" she realised, "He looks hurt." They all rushed towards him, it was, indeed, Caleb. And he was, indeed, badly hurt. There was a large gash on his right leg, several cuts and bruises all over his face, and his clothes were torn and frayed. When they got to him, he fell onto the ground, clearly exhausted, and whispered a few words,

"The rebellion is over. We've been beaten."

* * *

What will Phobos do to Hay-Lin? How is the rebellion over? Will Caleb survive? Find out in the next chapters! ^^


	5. Crushed Rebellions and Half Plans

swiftdragoness - A sequel? But I haven't even finished the story yet! Never mind, thanks! ^^

XV-Dragon - Worse is definitely to come. ^^'

* * *

**Crushed Rebellions and Half-Plans**

Caleb rested silently on the ground, breathing heavily, obviously deadly exhausted as the Guardians fired a barrage of questions at him,

"What do you mean the rebellion has been beaten?"

"Why are you so beat up?"

"What about Hay-Lin?" Cornelia intervened as the other girls continued repeating their respective questions at the badly beaten rebel leader, ordering silence so that Caleb could actually answer. Caleb nodded to her, clearly grateful for the moment of silence. He cleared his apparently parched throat and began to answer their queries, panting heavily as he did,

"We had pitched camp...in a secluded valley leading into a chasm...when a _huge_ army of Lurdens fell...on us. I mean...there must've been at least a hundred thousand." Will drew a sharp intake of breath,

"_A hundred thousand..."_ she murmured. The most that they and the rebels had ever contended with had been a thousand, _at most_. She briefly wondered where, when and how Phobos had managed to muster such a sizeable force. It wasn't the only thing she was curious about, for example, how did the evil Prince manage to create a portal, right _in her house, _how did Cedric and the Lurdens what did he want with Hay-Lin; a simple hostage? Or something more sinister?

Pushing these thoughts away, she listened intently as Caleb continued,

"We resisted for some time...but then we had to draw back. Our forces...were separated and most of us were caught." Irma sighed,

"That's all? I mean, all we do is get into the castle, free Hay-Lin and the rebels, and hey presto! A revolt in Phobos' very castle. I mean, we've done this a thousand times." she said, slamming her fist into her hand at 'hey presto' for emphasis. Cornelia rolled her eyes,

"Well I'm glad we've got a _true_ tactician among us." she muttered, "I don't think it'll be as simple as that."

"There's_ thousands_ of them!" cried Caleb, "There's no way we can beat them." Cornelia spun round to face him,

"You, Mr. 'Self-pity-we-can't-win-at-all,-we're-all-doomed,-our-bones-will-decorate-Phobos'-throne.' Get up, you're always going on about being brave and good, well _prove it_." she grinned at the rebel, "Or are you chicken?" Caleb rose to the challenge, pushing himself up,

"I can _more_ than handle myself. You should be more worried about _yourself._" Cornelia opened her mouth to retort, but Taranee interrupted,

"People! We need to free Hay-Lin and the rebels, don't we? So let's go!" There was a round of nods. And then Will gave a gasp,

"_Guys! _There's a _huge_ force of Lurdens coming this way!" she cried. They all spun round to look, and there it was, a large army of Lurdens marching towards them. Out of instinct, the Guardians flew up. Caleb waved his arm,

"Hey! I can't fly!" he shouted. Irma flew down, grabbing him by the arms,

"Jeez! You _are_ heavy!" she muttered. Caleb harrumphed,

"I heard that!" he retorted. As the Lurdens marched towards them, the Guardians - with Caleb suspended between them – flew away to the side, moving out of the army's way, before moving towards the city, where they hoped the castle they could blend in and sneak into the castle.

* * *

A short chapter, [excuse]to set the scene [/excuse]. As ever, please review! ^^


	6. Rakardnak

w.i.t.c.h. lover99 -Thanks! ^^ And yeah, I know Will doesn't have a brother, he's been specially brought in after a mistake I made, which turned into an interesting idea.

XV-Dragon - Oh Phobos has more than one nasty trick up his sleeve, trust me. ^^'

* * *

**Rakardnak**

Phobos paced solemnly to and fro in his throne room. Cedric had set out to capture him a Guardian over five hours ago, the Prince had given the naga his elite troops...and a little something 'extra'. But he had projected the mission to only take an hour, two at most. _What was Cedric doing?_ The Guardians were the last piece that he had to take down. The rebels had been crushed, the people had once again been shown that it was only by his grace that they lived – only the Guardians remained in play for the so-called 'rebellion'. He had struck fast and hard, and he had little doubt that the rebels and their allies would be wondering just how he'd mustered so many troops in under a week.

_Let them wonder...fear is a wondrous instrument of power, _he smiled at this thought. Fear had given and kept his kingdom, and soon fear would be the catalyst to begin the invasion of other places, of other worlds – _ripe_ for the taking. He heard a slither and a cough behind him,

"About time." he said quietly. He turned round, Cedric stood, as far as the snake-like creature _could_ stand, at the entrance. He gave the Prince a grin, moving aside.

Behind him, in the arms of a particularly vicious looking Lurden, was Hay-Lin - the Air Guardian, unconscious but chained securely and flanked by elite Lurden soldiers in spiked armour. Phobos smiled cruelly, "See? It isn't that hard to capture a _single_ Guardian." Cedric nodded slowly, hissing,

"A ssingle one perhapss, but in group they're formidable. They defeated your elite Lurdens easily. If it hadn't been for the Or..." Phobos cut him off with a gesture, dismissing the Lurdens.

"Don't speak of such things in front of common soldiers." he said quietly. The Prince gestured towards an obsidian table that had been placed in the centre of the room, before the throne,

"Put her on the table." he ordered the naga. Cedric complied, hoisting Hay-Lin up by a chain-link and dropping her roughly onto the table. Phobos observed her for a few moments, "Take her chains off." once again, the naga done as ordered, ripping the chains off her with apparent ease. Phobos gave Cedric a thin smile,

"Do you know how Guardians channel Kandrakar's power? Not simply through the Heart, if the Heart of Kandrakar gave them the power it would burn their simple human brains out. No, each Guardian has a piece of Kandrakar's power within them, which acts as a focus for the Heart, which is – in turn – a focus for the Aurameres, the source of the Guardian's power." he held his hand above Hay-Lin, black lightning crackled around it, "That small piece of power is easily corrupted." He placed his hand over the Air Guardian's face.

Lightning shot through Hay-Lin's body, her body contorted wildly. A shrill, anguished scream erupting from her lips. Her eyes shot open, black-on-black. Her body was surrounded by a dark, unhealthy glow. A strange, malicious-looking liquid welled up in his eyes, not tears. The liquid fell from her eyes and fell towards the stone floor, in mid-air it gravitated towards the other drops of the liquid, forming itself into an exact clone of the Hear of Kandrakar, but it did not have that comforting, pink glow, instead, a cruel darkness shone from it, seeming to suck the very light from the surroundings. It clattered onto the floor. Phobos stooped and picked it up. It was cold, _very cold_. He gave a mirthless laugh, one filled with cruelty and malice,

"Behold the Heart of '_Rakardnak_'. Kandrakar's antithesis." On the table, Hay-Lin gave a gasp, the dark glow that surrounded her became more opaque, and surrounded her – forming a bubble of energy around her. The sphere floated up, growing brighter and brighter – whilst the light from the castle torches seemed to dim. Cedric and Phobos shielded their eyes as the glow became too bright. Phobos felt his skin blister, he could hear searing, he could feel the sheer oppressive heat emanating from that bubble of energy. He fell to his knees, feeling his face blister and crack, he felt his hair catch fire, he felt his robes combust into flames, he felt his eyes dry up. Besides him, he could hear Cedric hissing in pain.

And then it ended. The glow faded, the pain receded.

Phobos collapsed, gasping deeply. He looked at his hands. They were perfectly fine. He felt his face, no damage there. His robes hadn't been burnt.

"I think," he remarked drily to the naga besides him, also confused, "that we have just seen Kandrakar's last, futile attempt to cleanse itself." He heard another body hitting the floor. Hay-Lin. The Guardian had returned back to normal, her eyes had changed back to their original dark brown on white. The lightning had stopped crackling around her and the glow had vanished. Phobos made his way over to her, reaching her just as she stirred. She slowly opened her eyes, gazing confusedly at him for a few seconds, before asking,

"Who...who are you?"

* * *

Amnesia!


	7. Amnesia and Lies

XV-Dragon - Thanks for you enthusiasm! ^^

* * *

**Amnesia and Lies**

_Four days later_

Hay-Lin sat silently in the garden, the Heart of Rakardnak poised between her cupped hands, her eyes staring unblinkingly at it. The cold jewel gave the impression that it sucked the very light from its very surroundings, but it still pulsed slightly with an ethereal darkness that fascinated her and intrigued her. She had no recollection of her past, but she knew...felt that this dark jewel was somehow connected with her forgotten past.. She was dimly aware of a noise to her side, and then a voice spoke into her ear,

"You really sshouldn't stare at that thing too long, it can't be good for you." Startled, Hay-Lin instinctly moved back, before seeing who it was,

"Cedric...you scared me." the Naga, currently in his Human form he often used to speak with the Air Guardian gave a quiet chuckle,

"I doubt I sscared _you_." he said, a trace of serpentine hissing present in his voice, "But anyway, you _really_ shouldn't ssstare at the Heart for so long, I doubt it can be good for your health." Hay-Lin gave a friendly harrumph,

"Since when did you become a doctor?" the Naga smiled, replying,

"I've alwaysss been a doctor. I got a PhD during an undercover operation on Earth."

"Well perhaps you should use your doctor skills on yourself, you're looking very tired." Cedric nodded, settling himself besides Hay-Lin, trying to get comfortable,

"Yess, it's the rebel ressistance. There are still pockets of rebelss here and there. And we have yet to find the Guardians. The Prince is particularly overworked," he smiled a conspiratorial smile, "he'll ssuffer a stroke if he's not careful. But don't tell him I sssaid that."

Hay-Lin sat without speaking for some time, her thoughts churning through her mind. The word 'Guardian' and the names Cedric had given them struck a chord of her lost memories, Phobos had informed her that this was because they had been her worst enemies, and enemies of the entirety of Metamoor. She turned back to Cedric,

"Tell me about them, the Guardians." Cedric seemed surprised, raising an eyebrow,

"Ssimple really. They are the tools of Kandrakar. The Council's foolish leadersss want to keep their grip upon the worlds and refuse to let anybody rule themsselves. As thus, the peoples of the universse suffer cruelly under their iron fisted rule. When the Prince made it clear he wanted to free Metamoor from their oppressive rule, they sent the Guardianssss who helped to incite a rebellion against the true ruler of Meridian." he recited, having been strictly told by Phobos to tell the amnesiac Air Guardian this version of the story, and _only_ this version, "They use the elemental powerssss of earth, fire and water and are..." Hay-Lin interrupted him,

"What about air? Why don't they use wind?" she asked quizzically. Cedric hesitated for a few seconds, before remembering what the Prince had told him was the 'reason' there was no Air Guardian,

"They did have an Air Guardian, but sshe returned to Kandrakar to keep the _decadent _Council _sssafe._" he sighed, "Coincidently, the Prince told me to warn you that he believessss the Guardians know of your amnesia, and might try to use it against you. Sso beware if you meet them again." Cedric felt it was such a phony lie, but Hay-Lin seemed to buy it, he gave her a winning smile, "But let's not talk of such depressing ssubjects."

As Hay-Lin opened her mouth to speak, a Lurden burst into the garden, interrupting the two,

"Lord Cedric, Prince Phobos wishes to speak to both you and Hay-Lin at once." Cedric frowned, dismissing the Lurden. He turned to the amnesiac Earth-girl,

"Shall we?" he held out his arm in a mock-gentlemanly way. Hay-Lin laughed and took it.

The walk to Phobos' throne-room was short, they passed through the main hallway of the castle, arriving at a small side-door that led into the side of the chamber. The two entered silently, moving to the centre of the room. Phobos sat, scowling, on his throne. Cedric bowed while Hay-Lin curtsied, and Phobos gestured towards a large map of Metamoor that stood to the side.

They moved over and Hay-Lin examined the map, it was one of those large-scale maps of the planet surface, with mines and outposts painstakingly carved into the stone of the map. Various figured lay scattered in places on the map, representing the Prince's troops. Phobos strode silently past the two, pointing angrily, towards a large blue circular statuette that had been placed on a large plateau far to the east of Meridian.

"Cedric, care to tell me what _that_ it?" he asked, venom dripping from his voice. Hay-Lin felt a stab of fear at the Prince's's tone. To tell the truth, he had always scared her, from the moment she had seen him, in that cold chamber where the Prince's medics had apparently saved her from death. But she knew that he faced many challenges to his benevolent rule each day, and that he was less than happy with Kandrakar's scheming.

Cedric cleared his throat noisily,

"It...it appearsss to be a portal, sire." he replied. Phobos nodded, a furious gleam in his eye,

"Not just any portal, my serpentine servant. A _huge_ portal, created by the very_ Mage_ of Kandrakar. A huge portal that I would _quite_ like to know how your scouts managed to miss, since all evidence suggests it has been there for the better part of the month."

"Ah...well..." Phobos held up a hand, silencing Cedric. Despite her fear of also facing Phobos' wrath, Hay-Lin managed to ask,

"What does it mean? I mean, it isn't the first portal that's appeared, is it? Can't you just close i..." Phobos whirled round to her. While his voice was softer, it still held an edge of ire,

"_It means_, my dear Hay-Lin. That Kandrakar has somehow managed to agree on something, and have decided to bring together an army composed of troops from _many __many thousands_ of worlds. _It means_ that Metamoor is about to be host to the largest invasion force ever to _grace_ the universe."

* * *

Phobos is in trouble. ^_^


	8. Corridors and Fake Traps

Sooooo, what can I say but sorry? I have been suffering from a severe lack of motivation and a slight writer's block for the better part of...a year!? Huh, well anyways, my apologies to anyone and everyone who has been waiting for another chapter. I'm back now, and psyched up to finish this story!

A few notes before I start; the plot has been rewritten somewhat, this means that Will does _**not**_have a brother (well, she doesn't anyway, but, yeah) he originally came in here as a mistake on my part, and that's a mistake I'd like to rectify by his removal. This only affects his one mention in the 2nd chapter, so it's not a big problem.

XV-Dragon – Oh, he's definitely gonna get a major smack down, make no mistake!

And now for something completely related: the chapter.

* * *

**Corridors and Fake Traps**

"Lurdens! Get back here!" Cornelia hissed, pulling Irma back into the safety of the shadows as a score of Lurdens marched past. When they were well out of earshot Cornelia gave a dramatic sigh,

"I really have to babysit you, don't I?" she said wearily. Irma scratched her head confusedly however,

"There was never this many Lurdens on patrol. We haven't seen a smaller group than ten. Where did Phobos get them all?"

Cornelia pulled herself up, moving out into the corridor know it was safe,

"Who knows? Who cares? They're probably just made out of mud or something, you know, like the Gotem of Prague."

"Go**l**em of Prague. With an 'l', like look out!" it was Irma's turn to pull Cornelia back as part of the floor suddenly gave way, revealing a dark chasm beneath. The earth guardian gave a sigh of exasperation,

"Oh, why did we have to split up? And why did we get the most dangerous part!?"

"Keep your voice down!" Irma hissed, "Something's wrong. There was never this many Lurdens, or traps. But Phobos doesn't know we're coming, does he?"

"How could he? He's probably just stepped up security since we last broke in. Repeated breakings in tend to make you rethink your security." With a buzz of her wings, Cornelia flew over the gaping hole, "Anyway, no point worrying about it. We need to meet up with the others or the plan is _so_ dead."

"Worrying?" Irma said indignantly, "May I remind your Highness that you were the one who was scared a second ago?"

"Oh I was not, I was simply – alright, I was worried, about _you_."

"Of course, I mean, we can't _all_ have the great _skills_ of Cornelia." the water guardian replied sarcastically.

"I'm not even going to – Lurdens!" Cornerlia pushed Irma into a small niche in the wall, as yet another group of Lurdens marched past. They waited until they were gone to move out. Irma looked down the corridor, the chasm in the floor was still there,

"How-"

"Does it matter?"

"It does! There's something going on here, I'm sure of it! How did those Lurdens get over the hole?"

Cornelia grabbed her arm,

"Irma! We're gonna be late with meeting up with Will and the others, and that'll ruin both_ my day_ and the plan!"

Stretching out a hand, Irma shot a jet of water at the broken floor. It landed harmlessly on the hole as if-

"There's no hole!" Irma exclaimed. She broke free of Cornelia's grasp and slammed a foot on the hole, "It's just solid! It just looks like a hole."

Cornelia now came over,

"What? But, why would Phobos go through the trouble of doing that? He's not one for harmless traps."

A tramping sound filled their ears. The two girls exchanged glances,

"Yeah," Cornelia said quietly, "now might not be the best time to worry about this."

The earth guardian grabbed Irma by the arm, pulling her into a dark niche. Yet another patrol of Lurdens marched past them, walking over the solid hole. Cornelia let out a sigh of relief,

"Now, let's move."

"Oh you _will_ move, Guardianssss." came a voice. The guardians spun round and came face-to-face with the smiling serpentine face of Cedric,

"Don't you ever go away?" Irma sighed, pulling her and Cornelia out the the niche and back into the corridor. The two guardians didn't hesitate, immediately launching themselves down the corridor. Behind them they heard the distinct slither of Cedric's scales on the stone as he slid out of the niche into the corridor. They sprinted down the corridor, until they eventually came face-to-face with a stone wall,

"A dead end!" Irma cried. Cornelia hesitated for a few seconds, then spun round,

"Bring it on, snakeboy." she murmured. Flexing her fingers. Cedric, a triumphant leer on his face, slithered down the corridor, now only a hundred or so feet away. Cornelia held her arms out, concentration hard. With a deep rumble, vines burst out of the stonework, forming a barrier between them and the naga. Irma let go a laugh, clapping Cornelia on the shoulder,

"That'll hold him." she chuckled. Cornelia shook her head,

"You're forgetting we're still stuck in this dead end." she said.

"Oh yeah. Wait! If this is a dead end-"

"Which it is."

"-then where did the Lurdens all come from?"

"Oh. Oh! There's a secret door here somewhere!" Cornelia suddenly exclaimed.

"Exactly!" Irma said emphatically, pressing her hand against the stone wall. Cornelia did the same. But minutes of intense search found nothing.

"Stand back!" Irma suddenly said. The water guardian aimed both hands at the wall, shooting a jet of water across it.

"Oh yeah, make it wet, a great idea." Cornelia said sarcastically. Growling sounds came from behind them, "Well, whatever you're doing, do it quickly! Our scaly friend's tearing through my roots!"

Having thoroughly soaked the wall, Irma now pressed two hand to it,

"I can feel where the water's gone through." she explained. She ran her hands over the stone, "Right here." she pressed one hand on a stone, "And here." another hand on a second stone. The wall slid up, revealing nothing but a cavernous hole just as Cedric burst through the vines, slamming into the two of them. The feel of stone beneath them suddenly vanished as the two girls fell down into the deep dark.

* * *

Most of this chapter was just arguing between Irma and Cornelia, isn't that great? -_-'. Anyway, if you've managed to read this chapter (or God forbid, the whole story), then please, please, **pretty please** click the nice 'Review this Chapter' button and tell me what you thought, whether that be what you loved or hated, it's all welcome!


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